Suez Canal traffic resumes smoothly; idle MV Glory vessel towed away

Habiba Hamdy , Monday 9 Jan 2023

Traffic in the Egyptian Suez Canal proceeded normally after the MV Glory vessel that had broken down while transiting the international waterway earlier on Monday was towed away to a nearby maritime park, according to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

(FILES) In this file photo the Marshall Islands bulk carrier MV Glory leaves the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk on August 7, 2022. AFP

The vessel was assisted by four SCA tugboats to the nearest maritime stop in the Al-Ballah area to be fixed, the SCA said in a video statement showing the towing process.

Osama Rabie, the SCA chairman, said earlier the ship suffered a technical fault when it was 38 km into its passage southward through the canal.

No information was provided as to what caused the corn-carrying cargo ship, which was sailing from China to Türkiye, to malfunction.

The SCA chairman emphasised that the authority is capable of handling emergency situations due to its rescue expertise, navigational knowledge, and technical abilities.

Rabie offered his assurances that traffic in the canal was uninterrupted as 26 north-bound vessels are already in the waterway, while the south-bound convoy was expected to resume its journey once the towing process was concluded.

There was a total of 51 ships scheduled to pass through the canal today in both directions, 26 vessels south-bound and 25 vessels north-bound, he added.

The ship, which is affiliated to the Inchcape shipping agency, is 225 metres long and 32 metres wide, with a tonnage capacity of 41,000 tons.

The 72-kilometre-long Suez Canal – which connects the Mediterranean and the Red seas – is the shortest maritime route between Asia and Europe and the fastest crossing from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.

Around 12 percent of the world’s trade passes through the canal.

The world’s longest man-made canal without locks is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency.

In 2022, the Suez Canal’s revenue hit a record $7.9 billion, up from $6.3 billion in the previous year.

The total number of vessels that crossed the canal in 2022 reached 23,400, up from 21,700 in 2021.

Meanwhile, cargoes that crossed the canal this year hit a record high of 1,420 billion tons in 2022, up from 1,220 billion tons in 2021.

In March 2021, the Ever Given vessel caused a six-day blockage when it ran aground at the canal before it was removed from its position.